Microtest Diagnostics Appoints Group Managing Director

Microtest Diagnostics has announced that it has appointed former Phadia AB senior executive, Kjell Kristiansen as Group Managing Director.

Mr. Kristiansen has worked within the medical diagnostic field for over 30 years, most notably with Sweden’s Pharmacia AB which subsequently became Phadia AB prior to its 2011 acquisition by Thermo Fisher for USD $3.5bn.

Mr. Kristiansen played a substantial role in the success of the business, having served in various posts including Regional Director for Asia, one of Phadia’s fastest growing divisions.

Prior to his 14 years in the post, Mr. Kristiansen held numerous positions both in business development within Pharmacia Diagnostics and as Managing Director for a number of companies within the Group.

Vito Levi D'Ancona, Executive Chairman said: "Kjell’s appointment comes at a significant point in the Company’s life as we prepare for the imminent launch of our ADAM™ testing platform and for driving growth in the Company thereafter. His track record in growing allergy and autoimmunity markets worldwide confirms his ability to help patients, doctors and laboratories better diagnose such diseases. We welcome him to the team."

ADAM™ is a CE-marked affordable diagnostic instrument, designed to be used by doctors, allergy and autoimmune disease specialists in-house, as well as for use in small labs.

ADAM™ offers a fully automated plug-and-play solution designed to be operated by non-technical personnel.

ADAM™ is based on a patented microarray technology that miniaturizes an assay of hundreds of proteins onto a single biochip. It simultaneously detects the levels of the antibody, IgE (an antibody created by the body’s immune system in response to allergy), with high precision and sensitivity using a few drops of blood.

The Company believes that the simplicity of the ADAM™ device will be valuable across multiple areas in the fast-growing field of allergy testing, particularly for children, given the small quantities of blood sample required and the ease and convenience with which the test can be administered directly by physicians at the time of patient visit.

Kjell Kristiansen said: “Allergy is a growing health problem around the world today. It affects the quality of life of around 30% of the population in the western world. The use of new multiplexing technology offers many advantages. I am looking forward to working with Microtest Diagnostics, and working towards physicians better diagnosing their patients in a fast, reliable and cost effective manner.”

The Company is currently scaling up production capabilities, signing agreements with key suppliers, and entering into distribution partnerships in several core territories as well as advancing regulatory approvals throughout the world.

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